Groundhog Day

GRDHG-150

Feb. 2, 2015 – It is Groundhog Day. My understanding this year is that Punxsutawney Phil came out of his hole in the ground, saw his GRDHG-400shadow and went back inside, meaning six more weeks of winter. He is less known, but Crushed Stone Stan came out of his underground aggregates operation, saw his shadow and went back inside, meaning six more months of discussion about transportation funding. President Obama’s $478-billion plan to invest in the nation’s infrastructure has set tongues wagging all over the industry. In an analysis on Politico, it was noted that this proposal would boost transportation spending by $176 billion and authorize programs for six years. Last year’s Grow America Act provided $302 billion for highway, transit and rail programs over four years. The president’s plan is just one of many ideas in the mix that relies on revenue from repatriation to fund highway and transit programs for several years. But, even with the repatriation-for-transportation idea receiving the backing of the White House and congressional leadership, there are a lot of nitty-gritty details that would have to be worked out first. That better happen before the Highway Trust Fund runs out of money around the end of May.